Comparing Colonialism In Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom

a kind of mirroring, portraying colonial impact, that non-native people want to accept and is a

The British Raj, or the British rule over India, has long since passed; however, the remnants of the pro-colonization have lingered around and are seemingly even making a comeback. Salman Rushdie in his essay, Outside the Whale, notices this romanticisation of Britain’s colonial past in the resurgence of Raj fiction and films. Rushdie, in his criticisms, embraces theories from Edward Said, and hints at theories from Frantz Fanon. By emphasizing the influential language of Raj films and texts, analyzing Orwell’s theory institutional denial, and finally calling for a systematic upheaval of oppressive thinking, Salman Rushdie’s essay and criticism mirrors John McLeod’s theories and definitions of colonial discourse and recognizes that with the comeback of Raj fiction comes a resurgence of the pro-colonization colonial discourse that it originated with.

The reader gets a rare and exotic understanding of a totally foreign and ancient culture experiencing the growing pains of colonial expansion during the British domination

The authors explain that colonialism is built upon relationships between settlers, natives, and slaves, and that these types of relationships still exist; especially among those who still have the desire to resettle, reoccupy and reinhabitate (page 11).

Throughout history, we see various forms of colonialism that have happened in the world. Multiple groups of people were affected by this act of colonizing. An example of the groups that were affected would include the Cherokees and the Mayans. Both of these groups of people experienced colonialism in similar ways, either by adaptation or resistance nevertheless they still had their differences.

Throughout the process of colonization, the Native people in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, Silas Hagerty’s documentary Dakotah 38, and Phillip Noyce’s film Rabbit-Proof Fence, all cope with the on going struggles of being colonized against their will. All three of these sources tell their own, different stories about their same struggles. In both Things Fall Apart and Dakotah 38, the colonizing people create a sense of doubt in the Natives’ cultures; whereas in Rabbit-Proof Fence, the people fight to hold their beliefs by continuing to practice their own traditions.

The animated classical Disney movie Aladdin has became one of the most successful movies since it was released in 1992. This movie may seem to be fairy-tale based and entertaining for children since they are the main target audience of Disney, but with a deeper look into its details this is not the reality of it. The ideas that children are exposed to from watching this movie help create and structure their mindsets as well as reinforcing unrealistic images of the Arabian world. In addition, Aladdin is a great illustrative tool in reflecting the concept of Orientalism, a term coined by Edward Said, which emphasizes on representing the Orient with certain clichés and characteristics that are misleading about the true nature of reality (Said, 1978). With that been said, this review paper will be focusing on the main characters and the way they are

Disney’s Aladdin is a fit example of misrepresentation of diverse cultures from a Westernized perspective. Disney is famous for lending representations of world from a Western viewpoint. According to Edward Said, orientalism is a way of expressing Arab peoples and Islamic cultures as compared to Western or European society (Palestine Diary). Said’s explains orientalism is the framework that we use to

Sherman Alexie’s book, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, focuses on life in Indian reservations and modern problems that Native Americans still face today. Through the characters that Alexie creates the reader sees how poorly the Native American communities are facing today and how Native Americans are trapped no matter where they go. One of the literary theories that allow us, as readers, to see how these problems arise is Postcolonialism. Postcolonialism is a literary theory that focuses on the impact that colonization had on native inhabitants and how that still changes their lives today. Alexie is very critical of how white colonist came and took the land of the Native Americans and destroyed their way of life forever.

Initially, the dvd cover used for the Blu-ray release of Avatar, brings to life a few interesting concepts surrounding colonialism. For a brief recap, the dvd cover offers a portrait shot of a Na’vi person, only showing half her face, standing in front of a plain black background. To begin with, the strategic use of the portrait shot, display the beauty of the Na’vi with their enlarged lips, magnified eyes, star-like freckles and aesthetic facial structure. The cover captures the audience's attention, giving off the idea that the Na’vi are innocent exotic beings, thus creating the Pocahontas perplex. Furthermore, creating sympathy towards the indigenous population before the audience watches the film. Turning the focus onto the black background, it can be deduced that it represents a tragedy with its void-like effects. Having only the innocent Na’vi on the cover, in front of the void symbolizes the inevitable destruction and abuse that will occur during the plot of the film. Therefore, the cover encourages the audience to develop an emotional connection with the Na’vi to strengthen the producers’ argument about colonization and its horrible effects. To conclude, through the use of planned product design, the dvd cover demonstrates how colonization brings with it exploitation and

In the late 1800s, third world countries, primarily Africa, were infiltrated by European colonizers. In Things Fall Apart, Heart of Darkness, and “Shooting an Elephant”, we see the direct impact of the colonizers on the beliefs of the natives. Post-colonial literature centres mainly around how beliefs are questioned and eventually altered; a transformation that can manifest in numerous ways as it is not fixed. In each of the stories, a different form of colonization is elucidated. In Things Fall Apart, the curiosity of the natives with regards to the culture of the europeans leads to colonization. The oppression of the natives exerted by the europeans in Heart of Darkness leads to colonization as well. Finally, in “Shooting an Elephant”, the roles of the colonizers and the colonized are reversed as it is the natives who take on the position of the oppressors.

In brief, this study discusses about the representation of orientalism idea which is portrayed in the film Avatar. The film tells about the conflict between human and native people in Planet Pandora, where human exploits the land and oppresses the native. This study explores in what way the idea of orientalism is represented and how both narrative and non-narrative aspects of the film helped in delivering that representation.

Through the study of post colonialism, the audience gains insight to both the perspectives of the colonisers and the colonised, which subsequently broadens our views. Through this understanding, the audience is able grasp the culture of the colonised and to feel empathetic towards the “other” which ultimately leads to acceptance of diversity. Differences must be embraced for social cohesion to achieve positive interactions and a balanced and strong society. In addition, an individual is made aware of the actions of themselves and others and can refrain from applying a detrimental and impartial attitude towards other human beings

I want to research whether portrayals of Orientalism in the media are used to retroactively justify decisions such as imperialism or the Vietnam War. I chose this topic because I found Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism very thought-provoking and wondered if it can apply to contemporary society. In addition to that, I have not seen a lot of contemporary analysis on Orientalism of Southeast Asia. My initial inspiration was when I watched the film No Escape, which seemed blatantly racist and problematic. I narrowed and refined my topic by further researching the concepts of Orientalism and otherness, and considered how they could be applied to this film. Sources that have been key in defining my research topic include scholar articles on Orientalism

“...Orientalism is not so innocent a form of knowledge as this. Instead, he redefines Orientalism as the ubiquity of a sense of the division of the world into two spheres in aesthetic production, popular culture, and scholarly, sociological, and historical texts. In other words, he is suggesting that the concept of difference between east and west is a geopolitical difference which is written up throughout the texts of western culture whether through travel writing, political texts, paintings, or in academic discussions” (Sharp 2009, 31).